Needlepoint As Fashion: A Wearable Homage To Eccentricity

our common thread co. | Victoria, British Columbia | December 2019

An Earl Grey Day, Earring

Jewelry making has been a true love of mine since I was six.

While studying Art History in Italy, I had the opportunity to try my hand at metal smithing and really fell for the craft. Surrounded by scrolling Baroque motifs, Rococo palettes, Byzantine gilded mosaics, Renaissance masters and beyond, it was difficult not to be inspired and implement various themes in my work.

Although making jewelry has always been a hobby and something on the back burner for me, it was exciting to think outside of the box in lieu of trying to scramble to try to finish a handbag I had originally designed. I decided to forgo my project for something that really inspired me. 

In a true Vermeer fashion, I decided to create a nod to The Girl With The Pearl Earring in a way that exaggerated form and included needlepoint. Baroque pearls have been a favorite of mine for quite some time and I always find that my eye always seems to scan for them when I make my own purchasing choices. This versatile, reversible earring can act as a jacket for an existing pair of pearls, be hung from a hoop, or even worn as a brooch. 

One one side of the needlepoint is a favorite symmetrical leaf motif that I have been including in my personal work for the last year. In Fyre Werks light gold, Vineyard Silk’s Gentleman’s Gray and Sky as well as Pepper Pot’s Salt, I stitched this side to emulate a serene, soothing palette that would have been popular in the rococo era.

The flower on the reverse side is a day-dreamed variation of a pattern I created inspired by the Desert Paintbrush, a wildflower found along the trails of a trip to Montana and Alberta this past summer. I had loved how the original concept translated in needlepoint and the dimensions of the design served well to include it in the piece. Mixed with some French knots and an Earl Gray type of palette, I added a raw silk ribbon called “storm” as well as Shrinking Violet by Silk & Ivory. 

A collection of earring canvases will be available in 2020.